Portable vacuum cleaner structure



Oct. 7, 1958 c. E. HANSEN 2,854,686

PORTABLE VACUUM CLEANER STRUCTURE Filed Feb 9, 1955 S SheetS-Sheet 1Oct. 7, 1958 Filed Feb. 9, 1955 C. E. HANSEN PORTABLE VACUUM CLEANERSTRUCTURE 5 Sheets-She et z Oct. 7, 1958 c BANSEN 2,854,686

PORTABLE'VACUUM CLEANER STRUCTURE 4 Filed Feb. 9,' 1955 5 Sheets-sheaf.3

Oct. 7, 1958 c. E. HANSEN 6 PORTABLE VACUUM CLEANER STRUCTURE Filed Feb.9, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 VIIIIIIIIIIIIII 5 A 13 r I flweufl I Cm'ekceamen Oct. 7, 1958 c, E, H E 2,854,686

PORTABLE VACUUM CLEANER STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-$21691; 5

Filed Feb. 9, 1955 lul hu n l i l u l w Ll I I I I I ll 1 Units SawPORTABLE VACUUM Clarence E. Hansen, Chicago, Ill., assignor, by mesneassiguments, to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Thisinvention relates to a portable vacuum cleaner structure including aplurality of wheels for moving the structure over a surface, and avacuum cleaner for performing a cleaning operation. I

Although wheeled vacuum cleaner structures for household use employingan elongated tank-type cleaner have been proposed in the past, thesehave on the whole not been too satisfactory because of the tendencyof-the cleaner to accidentally overturn during the cleaning operation.The new vacuum cleaner structure of this inven' tion, although adaptedfor household use, does not overturn during normal operation but can beeasily moved over the surface being cleaned by force exerted onaflexible .air conduit attached to the structure. The new vacuum cleanerstructure of this invention also employs an improved carrier: as a-partthereof on which attachments such as the hose, wand section's, cleaningtools and the like are carried audio which they' are readilyattached.

' The invention will be described as related to'the :embodirnent shownin the accompanying drawings. 10f the drawings: I i

Fig. l is a side elevational view, partially in section, of a vacuumcleaner structure embodying the invention.

Fig. 2' is a rear elevational view of the structure.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view, taken substantiallyalong line 33 of Fig. 1. '5 -1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken, substantially alongline 4-4 of Fig. 2. t s s Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the vacuum cleanerstruc- Fig. 6 is a sectional elevational-view, taken substantially alongline 66 of Fig. 4. j v i Fig. 7 is a view taken substantially-ialon,line7-7 ofFig.6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view, taken substantially along line 8--8 of Fig.4. q

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view of ,the attachment holderof the vacuum cleaner structure-and associated parts thereof.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view, taken substantially along line 10-40 ofFig.9.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view, taken substantially along line 1111 of Fig.10. V i

Fig. 12 is a sectional view, taken substantially along line 12-12 ofFig. 10.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially along line13--13 of Fig. 10. r

lower end of the handle is attached to this axle.

apart side portions 11b and-a pair of end portions 11c. Each end portion11c is at the rear end of a side portion 11b and is curved firstupwardly and rearwardly and then upwardly and forwardly in anapproximately 180 smooth curve in a manner shown most clearly in Fig. l.

Extending between the rear ends of the tubular frame 11 adjacent to thejuncture of the side portions 11b and the end portions 110 is an axle12. This axle extends transversely of and through the frame 11 and hasrelatively large supporting wheels 13 on each end thereof. Theforwardportion 11a of the tubular frame is providedwith a small wheel 14rotatably positioned on a swivel mounting 15 that is attached totheforward portion 11a as by means of a bolt assembly 16.

In order to propel the cleaner structure from place to place, there isprovided an upwardly extending handle 17 of tubular construction. Thelower end 17a of the handle is bent to extend downwardly and rearwardlyand the extreme end of the tubular handle has openings therein throughwhich the axle 12 extends. Thus, the The handle is intwo parts, a lowerpart 17b and an upper part 17c. The adjacent ends of these two parts aretelescoped together, as shown in Fig. 13, and are fastened in thiste'lescoped position by means of a bolt 18 extending'ldiam'etricallytherethrough. The extreme upper end 17d of the handle is "curvedgenerally rearwardly and is provided with a combined resilient handengagingmemher and bumper 19. l r

Forming a part of the vacuum cleaner structure and arranged :in.normtally vertical position is a vacuum cleaner including an elongatedcasing 20; This vacuum cleaner is -of the ordinary tank type including amotor- -fan nnitz,(not shown) and a dirt separating bag 21. This bag .iSlocated adjacent to the upper end of thexcleaner casing .20 which isnormally closed by are'movable end cap 22 having a generally flattenedconfiguration. This end cap is provided with an inlet opening 22a towhich one end ofa flexible hose can be connected in the ordinary:manner. In the vacuum cleaner construction of this invention thisopening 22:: provides means for attaching a flexible conduit such as theusual woven hose during normal cleaning operation of the cleaner. Theopening 22a has its central axis sloped upwardly and outwardly at asmallangle. In the embodiment shown, this angle is about30 from thehorizontalin the normal upright position of the vacuum cleanerstructure. The opening 22a-is located directly above the swivel-mountedwheel 14 but with the wheel being positioned forwardly .of-the opening.

The vacuum cleaner casing 20 is provided with the usual trim strips 23and 24 and is provided at the bottom thereof with a switch 25 operated:by a fulcrumed foot pedal .26 to .turnthe cleaner onand off. The endcap 22 is .remov-ably held in place by a pair of diametrically opposedreleasable latches 27 of ordinary and usual construction.

The vacuum cleaner structure described and claimed herein is of the typedisclosed and claimed-in Joseph .A. Schwarz copending application SerialvNo. .143,46 3,'filed February 10, 1950, now Patent 2,716,253, issuedAugust 30, 1955, and assigned to the same assignee as iscthe ing portion11a, a pair of substantially parallel spaced I ln'fthe normal operationof the cleaner, dirt-laden air is drawn in through the cleaning tool,wand and flexible hose which are all of the ordinary type and which are:attached'to the cleaner at the opening 22a; The dirt is separated fromthe air by means of the bag 21 and the cleanair is then exhaustedthrough an exhaust opening -28--of the'usual construction. As can beseen, therefore, thewacuum cleaner of the structure operates in the nor-;malmanner to perform its cleaning operation.

Inorder -toditiuse this exhausted air, the lower end 20a of the casingis provided with a spring pressed hinge .cap

:29 covering the exit of the opening 28 but spaced thereends thereof.

The rear surface of the cleaner casing 20 has attached thereto as by aplurality of rivets 30 a metal strap 31. This metal strap is curved tofit the curved casing 20 and has a pair of rearwardly extending endportions 31a, each attached to the flattened forward end of the frameend portions 110 as by means of a bolt. and nut unit 32. The endportions 31a are substantially parallel to each other and formelongations of the frame end portions 11o so that the tubular frame 11is in effect attached to the casing 20.

The strap 31 also includes a rearwardly extending central looped portion3121 that passes around the rear of the tubular handle 17. This loopedportion is attached to the handle by means of a threaded bolt 33 havingits outer end located outwardly of the strap 31 and its inner end withinthe handle 17.

Mounted on the rear of the vacuum cleaner structure between the endportions 11c of the tubular frame is a cord reel 34. This cord reelcontains an electric cord 35 having its inner end fitted with a twopronged plug 36 for inserting in a socket at the bottom rear portion ofthe vacuum cleaner. The outer end of the cord is provided with a smallplug 37. This outer end may be withdrawn from the reel 34 in thecustomary manner and inserted in an electric outlet for supplying powerto the cleaner. If desired, the reel and cordmay be omitted and anordinary cord connected directly to the socket 38 of the cleaner. Inthis instance, the cord may be wound in the usual manner on the twospaced apart cord hooks 39 located on the rear upper portion of thehandle 17.

The cord reel 34 has extending outwardly therefrom on the front wall ofthe reel a hollow threaded stud 40 provided with a head 49a on theinterior of this wall 34a. The cord 35 passes outwardly through theinterior of this stud and the outer end of the stud is provided with anut 41 which clamps the wall 34a between the a bolt 18 which holds thehandle section 17b and 17c together. Thus, this bolt 18 is provided witha relatively large nut 48 on its rear end, with this nut having anannular supporting stud portion 48a on its inner surface around which anarcuate portion 47c of the upper part of the reinforcing wire passes.The body portion 46 of the attachment carrier 45 is cut away asindicated at 46:: in order to provide space for the head 48!) of the nut48.

In order to releasably retain cleaning tools and other attachments onthe attachment holder 45, there is provided a plurality of elasticstraps. Thus, there is provided an upper rear strap 49 extending acrossthe attach- I ment carrier and riveted thereto by means of a pluralityof metal strips 50 and rivets 51 to provide a pair of spaced loops 49aand 49b for releasably retaining cleaning tools. There is also provideda similar lower rear strap 52 attached to the body portion 46 of theattachment carrier by means of similar metal strips 50 and rivets 51 toprovide three loops 52a, 52b and 52c. The attachment carrier is alsoprovided with an upper front strap 53 attached by means of the metalstrips 50 and rivets 51 to provide a ,pair of forwardly extending loops53a and 53b.

The bottom of the attachment carrier 45 is provided with smallshelf-like projections, three of which, 54, 55 and 56, projectrearwardly and two of which, 57 and 58, project forwardly. Theseprojections are preferably struck from the sheet metal body portion 46of the athead a and the nut 41. The nut 41 also clamps in position abracket 42 which extends upwardly above the nut 41 and provided withsubstantially parallel forwardly extending side flanges 42a.

Positioned against the front surface of the bracket 42 and between theside flanges 42a is the lower end 43a of the second bracket 43. Theextreme end of this second bracket 43 is located against the uppersurface of the nut 41. The lower end 43a of this second bracket isattached to the upper end of the first bracket 42 by means of a bolt andnut assembly 44. The second bracket 43 is then bent forwardly and has anupper portion 4317 held against and attached to the rear of the handle17 by means of a bolt 33 that extends through the looped portion 31b ofthe strap 31 and this upper portion 43b of the second bracket 43 andinto the handle 17. Thus, the bolt 33 not only serves to attach the rearend of the strap 31 to the handle 17 but also attaches the secondbracket 43 to the handle, which in turn removably supports the cord reel34.

The vacuum cleaner structure of this invention also includes a removableattachment carrier for supporting the cleaning tools, wand sections andthe like. This attachment holder which is located at the rear of thehandle 17 and above the tubular frame 11 has a thin sheet metal bodyportion 46 of essentially rectangular cross section, with the upper endand major portions of the sides curved around a reinforcing wire 47arranged in rectangular shape. The lower end portions 47a of thisreinforcing wire are unattached to the body portion 46 so that they maybe sprung toward and away from each other. The extreme ends 47b of thereinforcing wire are turned outwardly away from each other and normallyengage openings lid in the upper ends of the end portions 110 of thetubular frame to hold the bottom of the attachment carrier in place.

The upper end of the attachment holder is releasably held on the handle17 at the rear thereofby means of tachment carrier 45 and have the shapeof the openings 54a, 55a, 56a, 57a and 58a. The projections serve asshelves to support the heavier attachments. The manner in which theattachment carrier 45 may be used to retain attachments and the like inplace is illustrated by broken line figures in the drawings,particularly at Figures 10, 11 and 12.

In order to support the flexible hose, the vacuum cleaner apparatus ispreferably provided with a relatively large book 59. This hook isattached to the forward portion of the upper part 17a of the handle 17.When not in use, the flexible hose may be looped around this hook S9,with the lower ends of the hose confined between the metal strap 31 andthe rear of the casing 20.

When the cleaner is used as a blower, the structure is turned until thebumper 19 rests on the floor or other supporting surface with thecleaner casing 2t! approximately horizontal. The hinged cap 29 may thenbe turned back to expose the exhaust opening 28 to which the hose may beconnected in the usual manner.

Having described my invention as related to the embodiment shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is my intention that the invention be notlimited by any of the details of description, unless otherwisespecified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scopeas set out in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

A wheeled vacuum cleaner structure adapted to be propelled over asurface, comprising: a pair of spaced wheels and an axle extendingtherebetween; an elongated handle structure having one end attached tothe axle; a vacuum cleaner including a casing located forwardly of thehandle, the rear wall of said casing being located a substantialdistance forwardly of the axle; a support member positioned adjacent tothe wheels and to the cleaner casing, the bottom of the cleaner casingbeing located within the confines of said support member and adjacent tosaid surface whenthe cleaner structure is in upright position, thesupport member including a forward portion located forwardly of saidcasing and a pair of side portions on opposite sides of said casing andspaced outwardly of said sides a substantial distance, each side portionbeing operatively attached to the axle adjacent to an end thereof andoperatively fixed to a side of the casing at an area spaced above theaxle, each side portion of the support member being curved upwardly,rearwardly and then forwardly from the axle to'the cleaner casing; aswivel mounted wheel on said forward portion spaced forwardly of saidcasing a substantial distance, said pair of wheels and said swivel wheelserving to support the structure on said surface with the cleaner casingand handle in upright position and with a high degree of stabilityagainst sideways tipping; an.:l conduit attaching means adjacent to thetop of said cleaner casing for attaching a flexible conduit throughwhich dirt laden air is drawn during the cleaning operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.169,140 D. 169,336 D. 169,337 1,748,853 2,152,756 2,295,984 2,304,0142,327,553 2,340,390 2,388,280 2,390,101 2,634,189 2,716,253

6 Hedstrom Mar. 31, 1953 Reece Apr. 14, 1953 Reece Apr. 14, 1953 SquiresFeb. 25, 1930 Billmyre Apr. 4, 1939' Wilson Sept. 15, 1942 Paine Dec. 1,1942 Ponselle Aug. 24, 1943 Kitto Feb. 1, 1944 Nuffer Nov. 6, 1945 JasonDec. 4, 1945 Hill Apr. 7, 1953 Schwarz Aug. 30, 1955

